Longtime Dallas television reporter Brett Shipp has resigned to run for Congress.

Brett Shipp

(via Twitter)

Shipp, 59, will run as a Democrat in a bid to oust Republican Pete Sessions from Texas' 32nd District, WFAA-TV (Channel 8) reported. His last day at the station was Wednesday.

"I absolutely have reached my threshold of tolerance for negative discourse, toxic politics and the lack of civility. I've had enough," Shipp told The Dallas Morning News. "I cannot sit back and do nothing."

Shipp has been an investigative reporter at WFAA since 1995. According to his biography on the station's website, he has won three Peabody Awards and was the first Dallas reporter in New York after the Sept. 11 attacks.

"We are grateful for the many contributions Brett has made to WFAA and the field of journalism," said Carolyn Mungo, the station's executive news director.

Shipp posted a "Brett Shipp for Congress" image on his Twitter page Wednesday but locked his tweets from being viewed.

Shipp, a Dallas native, attended Highland Park High School and Stephen F. Austin State University. His father, Bert Shipp, spent 40 years as a reporter and editor at WFAA.

He plans to officially announce his candidacy at a news conference Thursday.

Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price laughed upon hearing that Shipp would run. The two have a history of clashes, as Shipp focused many investigative reports on Price, and in 2011, Shipp accused Price of shoving him.

"An ice cube's chance in hell," Price said of Shipp's likelihood of winning. "Name recognition is not always what it's about. One of my opponents had name recognition. But what are you known as?"

Brett Shipp and Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price had a physical run-in in 2011.

(File Photos/WFAA-TV (Channel 8))

But Shipp said he would be a good elected official and public servant, adding that his years as an investigative reporter made him an ideal candidate to weed out corruption and inefficiencies in Washington.

"I can do all of this," Shipp said. "I've done it all before."

Shipp joins a crowded field vying for the Democratic nomination in the 32nd Congressional District. Four candidates have emerged as major contenders: former Hillary Clinton senior adviser Ed Meier, Dallas lawyer and former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development special assistant Colin Allred, former deputy undersecretary for rural development Lilian Salerno and Dallas lawyer George Rodriguez.

Shipp will have to catch up with some of the leading contenders in fundraising, but his name recognition could result in his needing fewer dollars than a lesser-known candidate.

"In a crowded field, the fact that he's been on TV on a large station has gotten him a ton of earned media and name ID. The name Brett Shipp will get attention," said state Rep. Rafael Anchia, D-Dallas.

Anchia said the other contenders have been in politics longer and have public service records that they can tout to Democratic Party activists. Shipp has spent most of his career in the media.

"People are going to ask, 'What have you been doing over the years?' And he's going to have to have an answer for that," Anchia said.